Sunday, November 16, 2008

More on NRDC v. Winter

The Supreme Court's decision in NRDC v. Winter has not been out a week and it is increasingly coming under fire. The New York Times ran an editorial finding fault with the opinion noting that the "most disturbing" part of the majority's decision were the "strong statements of deference to the professional judgments of military officers." The two lower courts that the Supreme Court overruled were willing to probe the military's claims. The article ends with the "hope [that] the next administration requires the Navy to take environmental harms more seriously."

The L.A. Times was even more blunt criticizing the "faulty logic" of the majority opinion and stating simply that "[t]he Supreme Court was wrong to eliminate some of the Navy's precautions that help protect marine life." The article also ends with the recognition that the attempt to run roughshod over environmental concerns needs to be addressed by the next administration: "We trust President-elect Barack Obama to take a wiser course when balancing biological diversity against a few inconveniences for the Navy."